Photographic-film holder.



A. P. DAVIS.

PHOTOGRAPHIG FILM HOLDER.

APPLICATION FILED 111311.19, 1914.

1,130,152, Patented M51112, 1915.

INVENTOR ATTORNEY THE NORRIS PETERS C0,, PHoTaLlTHo. LVASHINGION, D c

ALBERT P. DAVIS, 0F DEPOSIT, NEW YORK.

PHOTOGRAPHIC-FILM HOLDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 2, 1915.

Application filed March 19, 1914. Serial No. 825,730.

To (ZZZ whom it may concern Be it knownthat I, ALBERT P. DAVIS, acitizen of the United States of America, residing at Deposit, in thecounty of Broome and State of New York, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Photographic-Film Holders, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings.

This invention relates to improvements in apparatus for developing,fixing and washing photographic films and particularly to improvementsin devices for holding the film during the carrying out of thedeveloping, fixing and washing operations (and, of course, during anyother time that it may be desired to hold the film stretched taut) andan object of this invention is to improve the quality of the developedor finished film and to increase the number of such films finished in agiven time (as per hour), and thereby to increase the income derivedfrom the work of developing films.

In the drawings illustrating the principle of this invention and thebest mode no known to me of applying that principle, Figure 1 is aperspective view of my new film-holder; Fig. 2 shows my new filmholderinverted and in place in a developing tank; Fig. 8 is a detail showingthe baseconnector of one of the posts; Fig. 4 is a detail showing invertical section a twopart base-connector; and Fig. 5 is a perspectiveview of the film-holding clip.

The film-holder consists essentially of the base-board a, the fixed postI), the movable post or stretcher c and the connector 0 for connectingthe base of the latter to the baseboard. Each end of the baseboard a isformed with lengthwise extending slots, the slots d at one end beinglongervthan the slots 6 at the other end. Of course, the number of slots(Z, 6, formed in the baseboard need be limited by only the width of thebase-board; but generally it will be found that a pair of slots d andthe corresponding pair of slots 6 will sufiice for the ordinary user.Such an arrangement of slots will permit short films f to be treatedtogether; or a longer film may be wound between the four posts, keepingexposed to the outside the sensitized face. The lower end of the post isenlarged to provide a base-connector c for connecting the post to thebaseboard a and is for this purpose formed with a rigid base 9 and witha pair of channels or recesses g the bottom walls 9 of which are flangeswhich bear against the bottom of the parts of the baseboard adj acent tothe slots (Z, c. The walls of the lat ter fitin the channels 9 and theposts are slidable along the same, so that theposts Z), 0, may bereadily engaged with and dis engaged from the baseboard and the distancebetween the two posts 5, 0, may be varied at will, not only for'thepurpose of stretching the film taut, but also for adjustment fordifferent lengths of film. The fit of the base-connector 0 0n thebase-board a is such that the posts are very slightly tiltable towardeach other for a purpose hereinafter explained. p v

I have found that when the ordinary film is slightly wetted at its ends,while latter lie in overlapping contact with one another and are heldpressed together, the ends will adhere firmly, so that the film willretain after immersion the form of a closed band, which permits thefinished film to be handled with very little trouble. I In order tobring suitable pressure upon the overlapping ends, a U-shaped clasp orclip jis provided, which clip is resilient and fits snugly upon the post5 and brings suitable pressure upon the overlapping ends f of the film.As is clearly shown in Fig. 1, these ends are interposed between thepost I) and the inner face of the clip j.

In using my new film-holderthe film is bent around the posts I), c inthe manner shown in Fig. 1; and the overlapping ends f are engaged andheld by theclip j which fits snugly upon the post 6. The film 7' is thenstretched taut by sliding the movable post or stretcher 0 along the slot(Z. When the film is sufiiciently stretched, it will be found that thetension of the film has tilted slightly the post 0 (for clearness ofillustration the tilting is exaggerated in Fig. 2) so that the rigidbase 9 and the flanges g bind upon or bite (so to speak) into the partsh, 2', or the base-board a opposed thereto somewhat after the manner ofa bureaudrawer which sticks in its guideways; and in this way the post 0is automatically secured firmly in place. The film-holder is theninverted and placed in the developing solution contained in a shallowreceptacle or so-called tank It, the ends of the filmholder resting uponthe edge or rim portion ofthe latter. Between the film ends, which areheld by the clip j pressed tightly together and against the post 6, thesolution enters in such amount as towet the film ends slightly and thelatter ,will be found to adhere firmly to each other. This is animportant feature of this invention. Again, it is seen that the film isimmersed edgewise in the developing solution, from which it results thatevery part of every film is acted upon uniformly and equally throughoutthe whole extent ofits surface. Any sediment or salts formed-willreadily drop from the film to the bottom of the tank. After having' beensubjected to the action of the developing solution for a sufficientlength of time, the operator grasping the film-holder at-the reduced orvnarrow portion on raises the same from off the tank k and next immersesthe film inthe fixing bath contained in a receptacle similar in allrespects tothe tank 70. After the image has been fixed upon the film,the operator removes the filmholder to the washing tank, where the filmisthoroughly cleaned. j i

The slots e are formed in the base-board for the purpose of enabling thepost b'to be readily put in place and as readily removed therefrom.instead of the slot e, a hole may be formed in the base-board (as at a,

i i Fig. 2) and the post Z) may then be formed 30 with a stud or stem 6adapted to fit snugly inthe hole (t,'.but for cheapness of manufacture,it is preferable to give all the poststhe same shape. Again, they arethen interchangeable and therefore handy to use. p

In order to prolong the life of the device, the posts 6, 0 arepreferably made of acidresisting material, such as glass, porcelain,

hard rubber or like. material which will not be corroded by exposure'tothe liquids used in developing and the films; and it islikewisepreferable to make the clip j of similar (non-corrosive) material.

By the use of my new. film-holder the quality of the product isimproved;for, the films need not be touched or handled after mounting them uponthe posts 6, a; and spots, stains, scratches and the like upon the filmare entirely obviated. The operator need never soil his fingers with anyof the solutions used; and the films, when finished,

are in the best possible condition for print-.

ing. Everypart of each film gets exactly the same treatment,the sameamount of de-- "nary shelves. w1th my film-holder are readily emptiedand rmsed.

able to obtain under systems of developing heretofore in use. It is onlynecessary for the operator. to mount his films upon the filmholder,invert the latter, immerse the films in a shallow tank or likereceptacle and, after the proper time has elapsed, to remove the filmsfrom the first or developing. tank and immerse them in the second orfixing tank; and, after the proper time allowed for fixing the image haselapsed, to remove the films from the fixing tank and immerse the filmsin the washing tank. In this way an operator using five film-holderseach capable of carrying a pair of films can treat ten films at the sametime. Furthermore, the films being immersed .edgewise in the solution,are held therein in the best possible way to secure uniform action bythe solutions to which they are subjected (developing solution, fixingsolution). My new filmholder is furthermore adapted for use in either asmall gallery or a large gallery; it can beused in the average smalldark roomand in connection with tanks set on ordi- Tanks best adaptedfor use 7 'A system in which my .new filmholder susedrequires-less roomthan does any other system of as great capacity and s more economical inits use of solutions, a'

larger yield of finished film being obtained per gallon of bath.Furthermore, thepercentage of perfect films is greater in a system usingmy film-holder as a part thereof. The contrivance itself is cheap anddurable, consisting of substantiallyonly three principal parts which inordinary use are practically indestructible,the baseboard (which j maybeof wood) and the two posts (which are'preferably of non-corrosivematerial);

by the use of acid-resisting material for the posts, the necessity ofwashing theposts is avoided and at the same time the length of life ofsuch 'posts is greater than that of cor.- rodible material, even whenthe latter are carefully cleansed, all of which attention requires timeand labor and involves considerable expense. in keepingv the apparatus.in proper. working condition. My new filmholder is extremely simple inconstruction and this simplicityconduces to cheapnessof manufacture andto relatively low cost of first installation or equipment of agallery'with my film-holder and also insures that the cost of upkeep or expensefor repairs will be small. It is to be observed that my new film-holderis devoid of springs, cogs, wheels or like machinery, which aresusceptible to corrosion, require constant care. and attention,particularly in the matter of cleaning, lack durability and involveexpenditure of much money for replacing and repair of parts. Again, mynew film-holder con'duces to speed in the work and to increase in theproduction. Several tanks and a corresponding number of base-boards maybe used at the same time by the same operator. Thus, while one set offrames are being loaded, another set may be in the developing tank,still another set in the fixing tank and a fourth set in the washingtank. The production of finished films thus is made to depend upon theability of the operator.

In Fig. 4 there is shown a two-part baseconnector. The lower end of thepost 0 is formed with a rectangular base piece n which lies within abox-like frame or connector 0 the sides 0 of which are adapted to fitslidably in the slots 6 formed in the baseboard a. The top of theconnector 0 is provided with a circular hole 0 through which projectsthe portion of the post a that lies above the base n, which itself isheld between the top of the connector 0 and the top of the baseboard a.The connector 0 is open on two sides, so that its sides 0 may be slippedreadily into the slots 6 formed in the baseboard a; and the depth of thesides 0 of the connector 0 is such that when the connector with its postis placed in the slots (as is shown in Fig. 4), the inwardly turnedflanges 0 formed at the bottom of the connector bear against the bottomof the baseboard a, whereby the connector is given a sliding fit in thebaseboard.

I claim:

1. A photographic film-holder comprising a baseboard; and a pair offilm-holding posts one of which is slidable along said baseboard and isprovided with a base-connector which has flanges that bear against thebottom of said baseboard and also includes a rigid base-that bearsagainst the top of said baseboard; said slidable post having a close fiton said baseboard and being only slightly tiltable toward the other postto permit the tension of the stretched fihn to cause said rigid base andflanges to bind upon the faces of the baseboard opposed thereto andthereby to lock automatically said slidable post in its adjustedposition on said baseboard solely by the binding action of said base andflanges thereon.

2. A photographic film-holder comprising a baseboard; and a pair offilm-holding posts one of which is slidable along said baseboard and isprovided with an integral base-connector which is slidably mounted insaid baseboard and is formed with a channel within which fits closely awall of said baseboard; said slidable post having a close fit on saidbaseboard and being only slightly tiltable toward the other post topermit the tension of the stretched film to cause the top and bottomwalls of said channel to bind against the top and bottom, respectively,of said baseboard and thereby to lock automatically said slidable postin its adjusted position along said baseboard solely by the bindingaction thereon of the walls of said channel.

3. A photographic film holder comprising a baseboard; a pair offilm-holding posts one of which is slidable along said baseboard and isprovided at its base with flanges which have a close sliding fit on saidbaseboard; said slidable post being only slightly tilt-able toward theother post to permit the tension of the stretched film to cause saidflanges to bind upon the faces of the baseboard opposed thereto andthereby to lock automatically said slidable post in its adjustedposition along said baseboard solely by the binding action of saidflanges thereon; and a clasp shaped to fit snugly upon one of said postsand to fasten thereto the end portions of the film bent therearound.

Signed at Deposit, New York, this sixteenth day of February, A. D. 1914,in the presence of the two undersigned witnesses.

ALBERT P. DAVIS.

Witnesses:

CALVIN ONDERDONK, EDITH Gr. DAVIS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

